Metro Vancouver keeps Moore as regional district board chair

Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore was acclaimed this month to a third term as chair of the Metro Vancouver regional district board.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore will serve a third term as chair of the Metro Vancouver board.

No challenger opposed Moore in a Dec. 13 election and Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie was also returned as vice-chair by acclamation.

Moore said key decisions facing regional politicians in 2014 include how to respond to Kinder Morgan’s application to twin the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, the search for a referendum-approved solution to TransLink’s financial needs, as well as the next procurement choices as Metro aims to build a new waste-to-energy plant.

“We’ve also asked for more information on the impacts of the Massey Tunnel replacement and how that affects the rest of the region and air quality,” he said.

Metro is also awaiting a decision by the province on whether its bylaw banning out-of-region garbage exports will be approved. That’s opposed by waste haulers who avoid Metro’s high tipping fees by trucking waste to Abbotsford for transfer to a U.S. landfill.

Moore said the regional district will be pressing for senior government contributions to its proposed new Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant. That’s the first of two sewage treatment plant replacements expected to cost $1.6 billion.

Two major water projects to serve South of Fraser residents that are already underway are a $250-million water tunnel under the Fraser River to replace an old one vulnerable to earthquakes and river scour, and an ultraviolet water disinfection plant at the Coquitlam reservoir.

Metro spans 22 municipalities, unincorporated areas within Electoral Area A and the Tsawwassen First Nation, which gained a seat on the board as part of its treaty.